ESSEX’S fire service is gearing up to meet the huge demands that will be placed on its services during the Olympic Games.

Thousands of spectators, athletes and officials are set to converge on Essex for the start of London 2012 in July.

But as well as bringing huge cultural and business opportunities to the county, it will also put an increased pressure on the emergency services.

Firefighter Justin Benson-Ryal has been tasked with the responsibility of ensuring Essex County Fire and Rescue Service (ECFRS) is prepared to meet the challenges posed by the Games.

“The safety aspect to the Games is vital and will bring together numerous agencies and organisations,” he said. “The event is huge and will have a far greater impact on Essex than anyone might imagine.”

Essex will only host one formal event, the mountain biking at Hadleigh Farm, but many spectators and officials will be based in the county and commute to London.

Roads throughout the county will be used by people to reach the Games, and Stansted Airport will be the transport hub for visiting heads of state, competitors, and other overseas spectators.

The major Olympic activity in Essex will come with the mountain biking at Hadleigh Farm on August 10 and 11.

This event will see 20,000 spectators a day coming to see the best women and men in the world take on a specially-designed off-road course.

“As well as being present at the event there will be all the extra traffic which comes with all the spectators,” said Mr Benson-Ryal.

“In total, we will have 10 officers at the event ready to respond to any fire-related incidents. We will obviously have to maintain our normal response to any other kind of incident happening in the area.

“Then there’s the main transport hub for the canoeing event taking place at Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, which will be based at North Weald Airfield.

“Most of the work that we have done is around ensuring that we have a robust multi-agency approach to keeping the Games safe and being ready to deal with any emergency.

“It involves working with blue lights partners, local authorities and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games to make sure that all safety aspects of the Games are covered.”

Some 10,500 athletes and 6,000 coaches from 202 competing nations will descend on the UK during the Games. Those numbers are dwarfed by the 7,000 officials, 25,000 media representatives and 20,000 accredited guests also expected.